Valorant patch 6.08 brings slight nerfs to Killjoy

Valorant patch 6.08 marks the return of Bind, but Riot has also sandwiched a crucial Killjoy nerf between the patch notes. 

Bind is finally back, taking Icebox’s spot in the competitive queue. This big update was the center of attention in the new patch, so some players missed the crucial Killjoy nerf. The jolly agent is one of the best sentinels in Valorant, but Riot is on a mission to balance out her kit. The recent patch 6.08 does the same. 

Riot has rolled out a small but significant nerf for Valorant’s sentinel queen Killjoy. The agent’s most impactful Nanoswarms will no longer scare away the enemies like they used to. 

“As Killjoy has taken on a more prominent place in the meta, we’ve noticed a couple of areas where we could improve the ways her abilities interact with other players/the environment,” said the developer. 

Here are the changes to Killjoy’s Nanoswarm in patch 6.08. 

• Nanoswarm reveal radius increased 350 >> 525
• Nanoswarm is now revealed when it is disabled.

After this nerf, enemies can detect and destroy Killjoy’s Nanoswarm from far away. This little nerf should drastically change how Killjoy plays out in post-plant situations. Typically, players rely heavily on Killjoy’s molotov to tackle Spike situations, but this change will let enemies strategize around the visible devices. 

It remains to be seen how this change impacts Killjoy’s sky-high pick rate in competitive mode. However, dedicated Killjoy-mains may not feel the heat and would stick to the sentinel despite the minor bugs. 

Besides these balances, patch 6.08 makes several other visual and audio changes to Killjoy’s toolkit. 

• Nanoswarm audio has been updated.
• Audio loop now also turns off when disabled as a result of Killjoy being killed or suppressed.
• Improved feedback for the enemy when they destroy Nanoswarm.
• Updated visuals for Killjoy’s ultimate Lockdown (X) being destroyed.
• Removed the yellow warning UI Indicator for enemies Killjoy’s Lockdown (X).
• Updated deactivate sounds for Killjoy’s Turret (E) and Alarmbot (Q) to make them more distinct.